1Kings 3:1-15

The
Reverend Bryn MacPhail / July 18, 2004

Two
Sundays ago, we began this sermon series by examining one of the prayers of
King David. In looking at his prayer, we identified three essential components
that should be included in our own prayers. In David’s prayer, we noted his humble
approach, his heartfelt praise, and his honourable petition.

One
of the ways we determine what is most essential when reading Scripture is we
look for things; we look for exhortations; we look for principles that are
repeated. As we examine, this morning, a prayer of King Solomon we find
that all three of the principles found in David’s prayer are repeated in
Solomon’s prayer, albeit in a slightly different order.

But
before we examine Solomon’s prayer, we need to note a couple of things. The
author of 1Kings makes an important statement in chapter 3, verse 3, when he
writes: “Solomon loved the Lord”. This statement comes on the heels of
2Samuel 12:24, where the announcement of Solomon’s birth is followed by the
statement, “the Lord loved him”.

The
context then, for Solomon’s prayer, is a loving relationship with the Lord.
For Solomon, God is not distant; God is not treated merely as a cosmic vending
machine that responds robotically to the requests of his creation. Quite the
contrary, for Solomon; for the Christian; the God of the universe is a
personal, loving, and generous God. But as we will soon see, the generosity of
God is most clearly seen in the context of a loving relationship with His
children.

Without
this relationship, we can have no assurance that God will answer our prayers.
Without this relationship, we are like those described by Isaiah: “your
iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have
hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear (you)” (Isa. 59:2).

So
you see, there are those who pray in vain, and there are those whom the Lord
hears. And the determining factor is whether we are in a loving relationship
with God. The determining factor is whether it can said of us that we love the
Lord Jesus Christ.

One
other unique aspect of the context of Solomon’s prayer is that it occurs in the
midst of a dream. Appearing to Solomon “in a dream at night”, God said,
“Ask for whatever you want Me to give to you” (3:5 NIV).

With
this statement, God places no limits or restrictions on what Solomon could have
asked for. With such an invitation, we might expect Solomon to launch
immediately into a long list of petitions. But he does not do this. Solomon
begins his prayer with heartfelt praise. Solomon thanks God for His “great
mercy” (KJV) and acknowledges that he is king as a direct consequence of
the mercy God extended to his father David (3:6).

Solomon
then moves from heartfelt praise to a humble approach. Like his
father David, Solomon could have been forgiven if he were to boast a bit.
Solomon’s ascension to the throne was met with little opposition, causing the
author of 1Kings to comment, “Solomon sat on the throne of David his father,
and his kingdom was firmly established” (1Kings 2:12).

Solomon,
like his father, was smart, powerful, and wealthy. He was a young man, likely
in his early twenties, and his position on the throne appeared to be even more
secure than that of his father’s. Who could have blamed Solomon if were to walk
around with a puffed chest, saying, ‘Look at me! I am the mighty king of
Israel!’ But he didn’t do that. Instead, he humbly confessed to the Lord, “I
am but a child; I do not know how to go out or to come in” (3:7).

Solomon,
the most powerful man in the world, prayed from a position of weakness. And he
was prudent in doing so. Compared to the One whom he was speaking with,
compared to the Lord, he was exceedingly weak.

Beloved,
is this our approach in prayer? Do we pray to God confessing that we come to
Him from a position of weakness? Or do we come to God with a puffed chest
believing that God is somehow obligated to give us whatever we ask for?
Clearly, we all need to heed Solomon’s example; we need to come to God with a humble
approach and with heartfelt praise.

And
thirdly, Solomon comes to God with an honourable petition, he prays, “give
Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people to discern between good
and evil” (3:9).

God’s
response to Solomon’s petition is most favourable; the author of 1Kings writes,
“it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked for this
thing” (3:10).

What
sweet words those are! How I long to have the heavenly host say of my prayers,
‘it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Bryn MacPhail had asked for this
thing.’ If ever you needed motivation to pray, I cannot imagine a better
motivation than this: Honourable petitions bring pleasure to God.

As
a parent of a two year-old, I have some understanding of what it means to take
pleasure in honourable petitions and, also, what it means to be disappointed by
imprudent petitions. Allie and I have been in the habit of asking Anya, each
morning, what she wants for breakfast. A few months ago, Anya’s answer would be
one of three things: a) Cheerios, b) Rice Krispies, or 3) berries (strawberries
or blueberries). In response to Anya’s petition for one of these three things
we were always delighted to give her what she asked for.

I
am embarrassed to report that her petitions have since changed. Some of the
things Anya has recently requested for breakfast include: potato chips, ice
cream, and French fries. Needless to say, not once have we granted Anya any of
these items for breakfast. Consequently, Allie and I dearly miss Anya’s
honourable petitions for nutritious food.

I
fear that the Lord may feel the same way about some of our petitions. As we
continue to ask for things that are not good for us, the Lord determines to
refuse our imprudent requests. But it is not as if the Lord is stingy. No!
Scripture attests to the fact that the Lord delights in, and generously
responds to, the honourable petitions of His children.

We
see this is God’s response to Solomon’s prayer, “Because you have asked for
this thing and have not asked for yourself a long life, nor have you asked for
riches, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but you have asked for
discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words.
Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no
one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you” (3:11,
12).

In
response to Solomon’s honourable petition, God gives him exactly what he asks
for. I wonder if James had Solomon in mind when he wrote, “if any of you
lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without
reproach, and it will be given to him” (Jas. 1:5).

What
an encouragement it is to learn that if our petition is honourable, The Lord is
eager to grant us our request. And, not only does the Lord grant us what we ask
for, but His generosity extends beyond our own expectations. God says to
Solomon, “I have also given you what you have not asked (for), both riches
and honour, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your
days” (3:13).

Charles
Spurgeon calls this pattern, of giving more than what is requested, “the divine
habit”, observing from Scripture that “(God) not only redeems His promises, but
when He (promises to) meet them in silver, He prefers to pay them in gold.”

Up
to this point, everything that the Lord has promised to grant Solomon has been unconditionally
promised. In other words, Solomon doesn’t need to do anything to get these
things. He simply prays. He asks God to provide without offering anything in
return. It is, quite frankly, the position of a beggar.

Admittedly,
this approach is a pride-squashing exercise. And, perhaps, this explains why so
many Christians struggle with prayer. For many Christians, we are quite
comfortable doing, serving, and giving, but we are not very good at asking. For
many Christians, we have no difficulty reading our Bible, or attending church
services—we may even sign up to serve on a committee. And yet, these same
Christians struggle to pray.

Beloved,
does this describe you? Are you so busy attempting to endear yourself to God by
your good deeds, are you so busy working to earn the favour of God and your
Christian peers, that you have neglected the all-important task of bowing humbly
before God, in heartfelt praise, offering up to Him honourable petitions?

By
worldly standards, Solomon had more reason to be self-sufficient than any of us
here. And yet, Solomon abandons any notion self-sufficiency in order to confess
before the Lord his desperate need for help. Solomon prays for wisdom and God
responds by promising to give him wisdom, riches and honour—no strings
attached.

Now,
I should say a word about how the Bible describes ‘wisdom’. Biblical ‘wisdom’
should not merely be equated with knowledge. More precisely, biblical wisdom is
knowledge rightly applied. Biblical wisdom refers, not only to what a person
knows, but it also refers to how a person lives.

With
this in mind, we come to the last thing promised by the Lord. In verse 14, the
Lord makes a conditional promise to Solomon; He says, “if you walk in
My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked,
then I will prolong your days.”

Why
the switch from unconditional promises to a conditional promise? Are we to now
understand that some promises from God are to be earned? No. Have a look at the
nature of the condition. What is the Lord asking for? “Walk in My ways”,
He says,“keep My statutes”—this is the exercise of wisdom;
this is knowledge rightly applied. The Lord is simply requiring that
Solomon be a good steward of his free gift.

Reviewing
this passage as a whole, we learn at least three things. Firstly, from Solomon,
we learn how to pray. We are reminded to come before God humbly, with heartfelt
praise and with honourable petitions. Secondly, from God’s response to Solomon,
we learn something about God’s character. We learn that God is eager to
answer honourable petitions. And not only is God eager to answer honourable
petitions, but He is most generous in doing so—often giving us more than what
we ask for. And thirdly, from God’s response to Solomon, we learn of the
necessity of being a good steward of what we receive from God. Whether
wisdom, whether intelligence, whether riches, whether influence—we are required
to use all that God gives us for His glory.

May
God be glorified then, in your prayers, and in your stewardship of answered
prayers. Amen.